Ah, yes. The summer of 1980 was a dismal one for movies. If it wasn't for Battle and Empire Strikes Back, the highlight of that summer would have been The Nude Bomb.

Based on your recommendation I purchased the two Vernor Vinge books. They look like a good read.

As far as Sador's reason for conquering Akir, I think maybe you're trying to figure out a rational reason for something that wasn't rational. He was just a bully who found a Victim of Opportunity. He did it because it felt good.

Take for example this real-life incident: When I was six years old, I and my class were on our way to some event or other at a nearby school. There were a couple of teachers, and us first-graders walking down the sidewalk like ducklings. We passed by a house with a kid, probably junior high or high school age standing by the sidewalk. He wore glasses and had a cast on his arm. As I walked past, he hit me over the head with his cast. It was a deliberate act, while he looked right at me. Why did the creep do that? Why me?

I was there, and he felt like bashing a little kid half his size over the head.

Sador was picking on the Akira because he could, because he thought it'd be easy. It was no more rational than that.

This movie just wasn't amusing enough to warrant 3 slimes in my opinion. There were some good laughs at the start and the occasionally hilarious moments but there is too much mediocre filler. I also wanted to see the main character die a horrible death but I knew he wouldn't.

When I first saw this in the theater in 1980, I didn't much of it, but over the years I have come to reappreciate my opinion, and I have come to the recognition I was wrong for a number of reasons.

(1st) It has a theme that has always resonated for me.

I wrote this a number of years ago, but I have never posted it anywhere until now.

"Any type of fillm can have this film theme. It can be a sports film. It can be science fiction or fantasy, comedy or historical, a western or a war film. It can be an adventure film, a crime film, or a horror film. It can be almost anything, but, it is a film, where the characters don't care about a person's race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation. They don't care whether a person is young or old, rich or poor. They know how to fight, and they are not afraid to die. In fact, most of the time, most of them do not come back, at least alive."

And more specifically . . .

(2nd) How can one dislike a film that includes in the cast Richard Thomas, Robert Vaughn, John Saxon, George Peppard, Darlanne Fluegel, Sybil Danning, Sam Jaffe, Jeff Cory, Morgan Woodward, and Marta Kristen.

To everyone who insists that Star Wars is based on The Hidden Fortress. One of the special features on The Hidden Fortress dvd is an interview with people influenced by Kurosawa, one of whom was George Lucas. He basically says that only thing he took from it was the idea of telling the story from the two lowliest characters. None of the rest of the story resemble Star wars much at all.

Battle Beyond the Stars: Of all the films that tried to cash in on Star Wars, this is one of the best. The characters are great, to the point where you actually hate to see them.

Incoherent and brilliant. Everything in screenplay is an silly excuse to show spacial battles, laser shots, spaceships and extraterrestrial characters in bad costumes. After all, this is what you expect to see in a science fiction movie. It's an exploitation film at heart!The fancy dresses seems to have been takem from a Brazilian carnival parade.Cool cheap special effects... if you get stoned.An awesome sci-fi effort! Join your drunk friends and enjoy!